Spirit of The Tiger
by mushineko
Summary: Upon their return home, Sesshoumaru and Sherrin, Rin's modern day reincarnation, discover Sesshoumaru's daughter, Moriko, is missing. Main characters are Moriko, Sesshoumaru, Sherrin and my new character.
1. Chapter 1

_**I hadn't planned on any more stories. But then the thought of doing a story about the twins entered my head and this is the first story. I am not sure how often I will be up dating as I'll be spending my spare time between art work, up dating my website and the story. I hope my writing skills have improved at least a little.**_

_**Spirit of the Tiger**_

_**Chapter 1 Unexpected Trouble**_

Moriko awoke in the dark. Her head hurt and she felt slightly dizzy. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious. She was in a small dark place, smelling of gas, oil and rubber. She tried to move but couldn't. Her wrists and ankles were bound by rope behind her. There was a strip of duct tape over her mouth. She was in the trunk of a car. Her first instinct was to break the bonds and get out. However the car wasn't moving and she could hear voices right outside. To break out now would cause problems later. She strained to listen. The voices were talking about hiding her aboard a ship.

Moriko growled to herself. 'Father will be furious,' she thought. 'Today of all days for something like this to happen.'

She had gone out to get something for her mother, who would soon be returning. She was excited about meeting her and wanted to give her something special as a welcome. Her little house was situated in the suburbs of Tokyo in Hachioji City. She lived close to the university she went to, close to other houses and apartments. Her driveway was lined by several trees and shady. She often walked to her classes, but for shopping, took her car. Leaving early to avoid the worst of the late summer heat, she had been eager to find something for her mother. She wasn't paying attention as she went out to her car; her mind was on what she wanted to get. She missed the initial scent of people, only noticing something was odd when she spotted a car parked at the end of her driveway. As she walked past two of the bigger trees, she sensed trouble but then it was too late. Two men grabbed her from behind. As she struggled to get away, a moist cloth was shoved in her face. After inhaling the fumes, she passed out.

Angry at herself, she quietly took in the situation. She had been kidnapped. Why? She listened, but the voices were quiet. The car started up and moved. She was being taken somewhere, presumably to the ship. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on her father and sent him a silent plea for help.

Sherrin found herself to be excited yet nervous. The early afternoon was clear, hot and humid. She was dressed in a light blue skirt, white short sleeve blouse and sensible shoes for travel. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail to keep her neck cool.

Their preparation for this trip had been perfect, everything had gone smoothly. They had gotten everything checked in with customs and were good to go.

Heather had driven them to the airport. She went with them to where the private jet was parked at a hanger.

"Call me when you get there," Heather said as Sherrin took Maverick's large crate out of the van and put it on the ground. "I will." Sherrin hugged her best friend, knowing she would miss her.

"Don't be a stranger. Phones and e-mail are wonderful ways to keep in touch." Heather hugged Sherrin back. Both women let go and pulled back at the same time, wiping away tears.

Sherrin headed to the plane with Maverick where Sesshoumaru, in his customary white, waited with Moose. He had said his good bye to Heather already and gave the two women time alone to say theirs.

Sherrin handed Maverick's crate to Sesshoumaru. He climbed aboard the plane, a Gulfstream G550, white with the company trademark dog painted on the fuselage. Sherrin turned and waved to Heather before boarding the plane.

"It's going to take some getting used to not having Heather around." Sherrin said as she buckled herself in the seat.

Sesshoumaru buckled himself in after checking to make sure Moose was secured. Maverick was secure in his crate under a seat.

Sherrin nervously pulled at the hem of her skirt.

"Second thoughts?" Sesshoumaru gently placed his hand over hers.

Sherrin looked at him and smiled. "No. Just nervous about meeting everyone."

"They'll like you." Sesshoumaru didn't have a doubt about that.

They sat quietly while the jet took off and waited till the pilot said it was okay to take their seat-belts off.

During the flight, Moose and Maverick didn't have to stay secured; they were allowed to move around. It would be a long flight, with a quick stop in Los Angeles to refuel and a longer lay over in Hawaii to refuel. Maverick had a covered litter box in a corner should he need it. Moose was a different matter. While he was able to move around, if he did anything, Sherrin would have to clean it up right away. Kind of hard to let a dog go outside when you're 35,000 feet up.

The first leg of the trip went without a hitch, thanks to a very good pilot. He had a rather hawkish face; narrow nose, piercing eyes and thin lips. He was a very good pilot thanks to being an avian youkai.

The stop over in LA took only half an hour and they were on their way again.

Moose proved to have amazing holding power. The fact that he slept most of the way helped as well. When they landed in Hawaii, they had an hour and a half, so he was allowed out to go potty.

The second leg of the journey started out smoothly. Again, thanks to the youkai pilot, they had all clear weather.

About an hour into the flight to Japan, Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and growled.

"What's wrong?" Sherrin looked at him, concerned.

"Moriko's in trouble."

"How do you know?" Sherrin asked, now worried.

"I can feel her cry for help." Sesshoumaru's voice was tight with emotion. He had no idea what was going on and wanted nothing more than to go find Moriko.

"Is there anything we can do? Call your brother?" Sherrin wasn't prepared for trouble, but she was willing to jump in and do what ever needed to be done.

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "No clear signal and no secure channel." He considered simply flying out on his own but quickly discarded that idea. He didn't want to get caught on radar as another UFO again.

"Can't we just tell InuYasha to meet us at the airport?"

Sesshoumaru nodded and got up to talk to the pilot.

"Call InuYasha, Moriko's in trouble."

Used to Sesshoumaru's often blunt statements, the pilot immediately radioed ahead to have InuYasha meet them at the airport.

Sesshoumaru turned to go back to his seat, but stopped, having thought of something else. "Have Kagome and Shippou there as well."

"I'm on it."

Sesshoumaru went back and sat down. There was nothing he could do now but wait until they landed. Sherrin put her hand on his arm in comfort as he leaned back in the seat.

"We'll find out what happened," she said softly.

He put his hand over hers and nodded. Her presence helped to keep him calm and focused. He looked at her, noting that while outwardly she appeared calm, she was in fact upset and scared. She was determined to help him despite her own fears and that humbled him a little. His own anger and fear subsided to the back of his mind as he realized Sherrin not only had to deal with the emotions of leaving friends behind, meeting new people, and getting used to a new way of life, she now had the anxiety of not knowing what happened to a family member to deal with. It touched him deeply that she was more concerned about how he felt than her own feelings.

The animals felt the tension. Maverick stayed inside his crate; Moose went to Sesshoumaru and gently put his big head on Sesshoumaru's thigh and whined. Sesshoumaru scratched behind the black ears. "Looks like you aren't getting a break either," he told the dog.

Sherrin and Sesshoumaru both felt the best thing to do was to rest, but sleep didn't come easy.

The pilot, sensing the urgency, increased his speed to the maximum.

The plane landed in Japan an hour ahead of schedule. Darkness was fast fading in the late evening sky, casting dark shadows everywhere.

Sherrin stepped off the plane into temperatures much like Wisconsin, hot and humid.

In the pool of light from the plane, Sherrin got a good look at the three people who waited to greet her and Sesshoumaru. She made an educated guess about who they were. The two men looked similar to Sesshoumaru, one had long white hair, like Sesshoumaru's; the other's white hair was shorter, just to shoulder length. A Japanese woman was with the man with the longer hair. This had to be InuYasha and Kagome. The other Sherrin instinctively knew was Hikaru, Moriko's twin brother.

Sesshoumaru made his way out, carrying the crate and followed by Moose.

"What's up?" InuYasha asked, sensing Sesshoumaru's foul mood.

"Something's happened to Moriko."

"What!" Both InuYasha and Kagome exclaimed.

Hikaru almost flinched. "I've had a slightly uneasy feeling all day," he said. "I should have acted on it." He and Moriko were paternal twins, they didn't look alike, but they had a slight psychic connection. It was strongest when they were in fairly close proximity. Over longer distances they would only get a sense of unease if something happened, unless the other was in extreme danger. The unease Hikaru felt had been faint and he hadn't thought much of it. He had learned over the years that it usually meant Moriko was bothered by something but she could handle whatever it was.

"Where's Shippou?" Sesshoumaru had wanted Kagome and Shippou to help with the customs while he filled InuYasha in on what he wanted to do.

"Shippou's out of country. Said he wanted to visit some buddy of his in Africa." InuYasha looked at Sesshoumaru. "So what's the plan?"

Sesshoumaru ignored him and turned to Sherrin. "Not the best welcome is it?" Sherrin shook her head. He took her hand and gently pulled her next to him.

"Mother!" Hikaru had been gone when Sesshoumaru had gone to America and hadn't known about Sherrin. He immediately knew who she was. His eyes lit up despite the situation and he gave her a big hug. "Welcome home!"

Sherrin hadn't expected such a welcome. She smiled shyly. "Thank you." Kagome and InuYasha also gave her a welcome hug. She had been worried about how they would react to her, but they made her feel welcome.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Kagome said. She was happy everything had turned out for Sesshoumaru. She knew he had missed Rin and that while it didn't show, he had been lonely.

"I just wish circumstances were happier than they are." She looked at Sesshoumaru. "So what do we do?" Her tone told him she was in this with him. She wouldn't stay home while Moriko was in trouble.

"Customs first," he nodded in the direction of the official that was headed their way. They had all the proper paper work and documents. Moose was exempt from the quarantine rule when it was found he was on a search and rescue mission. Maverick however had to be kept in home for the 14 days.

After stowing luggage, crate and dog in Hikaru's car, they left the airport and headed straight for Sesshoumaru's home. InuYasha and Kagome followed in their car.

Sherrin got Maverick settled in his new home while Sesshoumaru checked the premises, making sure nothing was amiss. He went through the whole house, starting from the entry way to the kitchen and dining room, bath room, family-living room, down a hall to the two bedrooms and another bath. He went out onto the deck and walked all around the house.

"Anything?" InuYasha had followed him. Sesshoumaru shook his head and went back inside.

Sherrin and Kagome were sitting on the couch when Sesshoumaru came back in. Moose had flopped down on the floor next to Sherrin. Even though she was anxious to find Moriko, Sherrin was very tired. The stress and the trip had taken a toll on her. Sesshoumaru looked at her and made a decision. "We'll continue our search tomorrow." He turned to InuYasha. "You go home. In the morning check with Moriko's friends and at the University and we'll meet back at the shrine."

InuYasha nodded, for once not arguing. "What will you do?"

"Search around Moriko's place."

Hikaru had made friends with Moose and was sitting with the dog, petting the big furry head. He looked up at his father. "I'm going with you. As far as I can tell, she's missing, but not in any immediate danger."

Sesshoumaru acknowledged his son with a brief nod.

Kagome stood up, yawning. "Come on InuYasha, we need to get going." She turned to Sherrin, who also stood up. "Welcome to the family." Kagome gave her another hug. "It's not usually this crazy here. When this is over, I'll show you around."

"Thank you." Sherrin was thankful for Kagome's friendliness.

InuYasha nodded to Sherrin and went out, followed by Kagome.

Sesshoumaru put his arms around Sherrin. Holding her gave him comfort. "Get some sleep," he commanded as he pushed her gently toward his bed room.

Hikaru went out to the car and brought the luggage into the house. He put the suitcases down in the hallway right outside Sesshoumaru's room, then checked on the cat, who was sitting on top of the crate, taking in his new surroundings. Hikaru then went into the spare bedroom. He and Moriko both left clothes and other belongings in case of a visit, so the room was always ready for an occupant. He lay on the bed, unable to sleep, thinking of his sister. He was angry at himself for not acting on his unease, even though he knew that normally, he wouldn't react to such a slight feeling.

Sesshoumaru showed Sherrin the bathroom, where everything was and how it worked. Sherrin went to her suitcase and opened it, getting out a large light blue night shirt to wear. She went into the bathroom and got ready for bed. When she came out, Sesshoumaru was sitting on the bed. Sesshoumaru's white clothes stood out against the dark blue sheets and blanket on the futon.

Sherrin went to the bed and sat next to Sesshoumaru. The futon was a little lower than she was used to but comfortable.

"This is not what I had in mind for our return." Sesshoumaru sat looking at the floor.

Sherrin could tell he was upset and angry. She wrapped her arms around him in comfort and rested her head against his back. "We'll find her." Of that she was sure. Sesshoumaru wouldn't rest until they found her.

Notes:

As noted at the beginning, it mat take a while to up date, plus, I like to research things so I know what I'm writing about. At least to some point.

As for Moriko passing out, I based that on InuYasha's reaction to certain fumes.

The Gulfstream G550 has a ceiling height of 51,000 feet. I took a guess at what the average cruising height is. They are used mainly as company planes.

It took some doing, but times are appropriate to each part of the story.

I am doing art work related to these stories. Right now just pencil sketches.


	2. Chapter 2 Lenka

**I hope my readers liked the first chapter. I know it was kind of short. For those who haven't read my first two stories, there is some info here regarding that. Feedback would be appreciated so I can improve on my writing.**

**Chapter 2 Lenka**

Lenka stood by the window, waiting for his men to call. He was looking forward to good news.

Henrik Lenka was the illegitimate child of an affair between a desk clerk and a high ranking African official. His mother was of German descent and had worked at the German Embassy in Johannesburg. She had been the perfect blond blue eyed German. He never knew his father. He grew up in Johannesburg, in the slums. He worked hard to get out from under the stigma of being of mixed heritage. With his kinky dirty blond hair, hazel eyes, and medium skin color, it had been hard to get past the attitudes and prejudice. By the time he was a teenager; he was able to get out of Johannesburg and found his way to Port Elizabeth. There he worked long hard hours at the docks. The owner of the shipyard, Johan Schultz, took pity on him and became his mentor. He gave Henrik a job in the shipping company, Port Lyon Import-Export. So Lenka had been able to learn the ins and outs of a shipping company. He started out as a "gofer", running errands, doing the odd manual and janitorial work. He was promoted to the office, at first just filing papers. Then he was in charge of the manifest records, then office manager. Next he was allowed to give input as to how the company should be run. Finally he was promoted to second in command. Eventually, he was in a position to take over the Port Lyon Import-Export business when Johan passed away of old age.

It didn't take him long to learn there were faster ways of earning more money than just the normal cargo. He started with small things, like small caliber guns, knives, a few swords. He had also learned that having body guards was a good investment. He hired the best German mercenaries he could find.

Soon Lenka was smuggling all kinds of weapons, drugs, and exotic animals. He smuggled guns to armies in Africa's war zones, drugs to Europe and exotic animals to America. He also made good money in the ivory trade. China was also another country that was worth his while in the black market. Animal parts for medicinal reasons were highly sought after in China. Shark fin soup was a popular dish, so shark fin brought in a lot of money as well.

His unreported cargo didn't sit well with some of his employees and they quit. Those employees had "accidents" and were replaced with employees who either didn't care, looked the other way or believed as Lenka did; how the money was made didn't matter as long as the money was made.

Lenka's import-export company grew, making him a millionaire. He was able to buy himself protection from laws, spreading his money around and influencing the South African government to suit his needs.

With the money he made, he was trying to improve the safety of shipping cargo. He had lost valuable cargo, and a large sum of money, in a severe storm. He had been trying to improve ever since. He researched shipping and other companies and came across a brief mention of Shiro Inu Exports being the safest shipping company. He tried buying the company but got no where with that. He tried recruiting their workers. That didn't work. He tried finding usable information about the company or anyone affiliated with them, for blackmail purposes, but he had no luck. What little information he could find didn't include anything illegal. Finally, he resorted to having the people watched, from a distance. The company apparently had highly sophisticated security and warning systems. The two times his men had gotten too close, they had been confronted by security. After the second time they had learned what distance was safe for watching. Not that it did them much good; there wasn't much to report from the distance they had to keep.

So Lenka tried to learn all he could about the company. He learned it was family owned, run by two brothers. His men had met the one brother, who was head of security. The man's name was odd, InuYasha. He was married; his wife lived with her family, helping out with some sort of shrine. She also ran a sort of rooming house for people in need of help. The other brother, known only as Takashi, lived in a remote area, had two children but no wife.

The only other thing Lenka could find out was that the company had been in the family for over 100 years, being passed down to the next generation. He turned his attention to the children. The son seemed to be learning about the company. He was often gone on trips, going with one of the freighters on its voyage.

With the daughter, Lenka felt he had found something he might be able to use. The daughter went to a university and liked to hang out with friends. She lived alone in a little house that was somewhat secluded, despite being surrounded by other homes and apartments and close to the university. So Lenka sent his men to watch the girl. They were able to get closer to her, and get more information. When his men reported that she had a regular routine she followed, he came up with a plan. He worked through his plan carefully, trying to cover all contingencies. Kidnap the girl, secure her aboard his ship that was currently docked in Tokyo Harbor and bring her back here by ship. It would take 30-40 days, so once he set his plan in motion, he would wait a few days and then contact Takashi. His demand for her safe release would be Takashi's company. Once Takashi handed over the signed documents, he would have them killed in an "accident". He didn't want his plan spoiled by witnesses. So after careful consideration, he set his plan in motion.

So now he waited to hear from his men. He was in his office, a suite of rooms on the top floor of a ten story building. Plush carpeting, done in a soft cream color, pale beige walls made the dark wood furniture stand out. There were pictures of elephants and lions on the walls. In one corner of his office, next to a potted Cape Box tree, a stuffed lion stood on a stand, looking ready to attack. Lenka had bought the lion from a zoo for sport hunting, but it had died on the way to his estate.

The building was far enough from the docks that you didn't get the smell, but close enough to get a view of the port. From where he stood, he could see the work at the docks; one of his ships being unloaded. The place was a beehive of activity.

His private phone rang; a blast of African music. He went to answer it.

"How'd it go?"

"Good. She was bit feisty though."

"Make sure she's bound up good, don't want her getting away or alerting anyone."

We tied back her ankles and wrists and put duct tape on her mouth."

"Where is she?"

"In the trunk for now, passed out."

"Keep her there for now. When it gets dark, take her to the dock and store her aboard the ship, there shouldn't be anyone there. It sails in the morning."

"Will do."

Lenka hung up the phone. 'So far, so good,' he thought. His plan was going smoothly.

Kruger and Wolfe were the two best German mercenaries that Lenka had. They had military training and had been involved in more than one African uprising.

Kruger was blond, blue eyed and built like a tank. His specialty was hand to hand combat. Wolfe was taller and had dark hair and brown eyes. He was more athletic looking. His specialty was as a marksman.

They had seen an opportunity with the girl when she went out early that morning. They had been sitting around for several days, following and studying her movements. Once they learned her basic routine, it was just a matter of opportunity. The girl spent three days going to Kogakuin University, spending the better part of the day there. Then she spent time with friends, apparent classmates. She spent one day shopping with those same friends and stayed home the next day. When she went out, she never took the same route twice in a row, she varied her movements.

So when the two mercenaries had seen the opportunity, they took it. They had everything ready in the car, the ropes, tape, cloth and chloroform.

They hadn't expected the strength of the girl and had used extra chloroform to subdue her. Neither realized that the extra amount they used would have caused respiratory failure in a human and possibly death.

Once subdued, they bound her wrists behind her back and tied her ankles to her wrists. They put a strip of duct tape over her mouth and stuffed her in the trunk. Quickly they left the area before any passer-bys might see something. They drove to the hotel they had been staying at, keeping the car under tight watch. It was parked by some big bushes, partly obscuring it from other occupants of the hotel. They had called Lenka and let him know everything was good and to get further instructions. Once they got the instructions, they checked out of the hotel and looked for a more secluded spot to check on their "cargo".

Sherrin awoke with a start. At first she was confused at where she was. She was in a dark room, on a bed covered by a soft dark blue blanket. In Sesshoumaru's bedroom, she realized. Everything from the day before came flooding back; the flight, the arrival in Japan, meeting Sesshoumaru's family and the announcement that Moriko was missing.

She shook her head in wonder as Maverick jumped on the bed with her. It was hard to believe that just a few months ago she was worried only about some weird dreams she was having. Those dreams turned out to be memories of a past life; Rin's life to exact. Now here she was, in Japan, with the man that had featured predominately in those dreams.

Maverick rubbed his head against Sherrin's arm, trying to get attention. She stroked the large black cat. "Well Maverick, what do you think of your new home?" The big cat meowed and jumped off the bed.

Sherrin got up and went to the bathroom, wondering where Sesshoumaru was. She washed and then looked for her suitcase. Hikaru had left it outside the bedroom door to give them privacy the night before. Sherrin picked it up and put it on the bed. She pulled out what was on top; a t-shirt with tigers on it and blue jeans. She changed into the clothes, leaving the night shirt hanging on the bathroom door. She decided not to worry about clothes right now; she would put those away later. She went looking for Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru had sat on the bed until Sherrin had fallen asleep. He laid her gently on the bed and covered her with the blanket. He got up and paced around the house, followed by Moose. Sesshoumaru was restless, worried about Moriko. He went back into the bedroom, followed by the big dog. With a sigh, Moose flopped onto the floor by the bed. Sesshoumaru took the hint and sat back down on the bed, watching Sherrin. He was glad he had found her. He had gone to check out the "American Werewolf" story; he wasn't looking for Rin's reincarnation. After taking care of the "werewolf" that turned out to be a youkai causing trouble, he spent the next couple of months getting to know Sherrin. She had fallen in love with him and agreed to go to Japan with him.

Sherrin found Sesshoumaru out on the porch, standing at the railing, looking out into the distance, as if searching for Moriko. He had changed into a white shirt, white slacks and black boots. She put her arms around him and asked "Any news?"

He shook his head.

Hikaru came out of the house, car keys in hand. He was dressed for outdoors; dark blue t-shirt, blue jeans and hiking boots.

Sesshoumaru looked at Sherrin. "We're going. Ready?"

Sherrin nodded. She let go of Sesshoumaru and followed him to Hikaru's car. They made their way to Moriko's house as fast as traffic would let them. Once there, they parked in the drive way and walked to the house. Hikaru took out a key and unlocked the door. He and Sherrin went in as Sesshoumaru walked around the house. He walked toward the driveway picked up the faint scent of two men and followed it to the two big trees. He also picked up Moriko's scent. By her car all the smells mixed, and added to it was the faint scent of chloroform, which Sesshoumaru didn't like.

Hikaru and Sherrin came out of the house and joined Sesshoumaru.

"Nothing. No sign, no odd smells." Hikaru was still upset with himself that he hadn't reacted to the uneasy feeling he'd had the day before.

"She was going to go somewhere," Sesshoumaru pointed to the car. "Her scent is mixed with two men and chloroform. They took her somewhere." He walked down to the street, the scent disappearing in a different car.

"Why would someone take Moriko?" Sherrin came to stand by Sesshoumaru. Hikaru stood on the other side.

"I don't know." Sesshoumaru stared off down the street in the direction the car had taken. A low growl escaped his throat. "But I will find out."

"Have any of you seen Moriko lately?" Kagome and InuYasha were at the University. They had managed to find a few of Moriko's friends by asking around. Three friends, a boy and two girls, were sitting under a Sakura tree having a group discussion about one of their classes.

Kagome had introduced her self and InuYasha as Moriko's Aunt and Uncle. She had explained that Moriko wasn't at home and they were looking for her.

"No, not since our last class. She isn't in trouble is she?" The boy, Hisoka, asked.

The two girls, Akemi and Natsumi, shook their heads. "She seemed very happy about something," Akemi said. "She wouldn't elaborate but said she'd tell us later."

"She's not in any trouble that we know of, but we just don't know where she went."

"Would anyone else know?" InuYasha asked.

"No. Moriko has just the two classes this quarter so we only see her three days a week. Ayume and Fumio are in another class right now. They wouldn't know either." Akemi looked a little worried for her friend. "We'll have her call you if she shows up here."

Kagome smiled. "Thank you."

"Well that wasn't very informative," InuYasha grumbled as they headed back to the shrine. "I hope Sesshoumaru found out something."

"I hope so too." Kagome was worried as well. Nothing like had ever happened before. 'What if some human found out about Moriko and had her taken to be studied?' Kagome shuddered at that thought. She looked over at InuYasha. "Do you think someone may have discovered her true identity?"

InuYasha frowned. He'd been thinking something similar. "I hope not. It would be bad news if someone did."

They arrived back at the shrine just as Hikaru's car pulled up. They all gathered under the sacred tree.

"She was taken by humans." Sesshoumaru explained what he had found.

"But why take her?" That seemed the unanswered question.

"Step back and look at the bigger picture." Everyone turned and looked at Sherrin. She had been thinking that there were really only three reasons for taking Moriko: ransom, slave trafficking or someone found out her true identity.

"Since she was kidnapped by humans, most likely they either want money or to sell her as a slave."

Sesshoumaru growled at the thought of Moriko being someone's slave.

Sherrin looked at Sesshoumaru and touched his arm. "Sorry, but we need to think of the reasons why." She looked at the others. She could by the look on their faces the other reason had already crossed their minds.

"You're right." InuYasha looked at Sesshoumaru. "We need to understand the why. Has anyone seen or heard anything unusual?" InuYasha thought back a few weeks to the two guys who came snooping around the ship yard. They had been looking for work they had said, but InuYasha had known they were lying.

"Two human males you said?"

Sesshoumaru nodded once.

"I wonder if they are the same two who came snooping around the ship yard a few weeks ago."

"Would you recognize their scent?"

"Yeah. Why?" InuYasha frowned at his brother.

"Let's go." Sesshoumaru didn't bother to explain, just headed out to InuYasha's car. Somewhat irritated, InuYasha followed.

"Hikaru, would you go back home and check on Moose and Maverick for me?" Sherrin still felt a little unsure of herself and wanted to stay with Sesshoumaru.

"Sure." Hikaru gave Sherrin a quick hug. "I'll see you and Father later."

Sherrin nodded and followed after the brothers.

The drive back to Moriko's house was silent. InuYasha concentrated on driving. Sesshoumaru sat next to InuYasha, silent. Sherrin sat in the back; she felt she needed to be with Sesshoumaru, that he needed her. She reached over and put her hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.

Once at Moriko's, InuYasha walked around the driveway, sniffing. He checked the two trees, the car and went down to the street. He recognized the scent.

"Same two men." He looked down the street, same as his brother had earlier.

Sesshoumaru growled. 'What do they want?' he asked himself. A gentle touch on his arm made him turn and look. Sherrin stood next to him.

InuYasha came over. "I'll take you two back home."

They drove to Sesshoumaru's home in silence, each one thinking of what the implications of Moriko's kidnapping might mean.

As Sesshoumaru and Sherrin got out of the car, InuYasha said "I'll see what I can find out about those two men."

Sherrin paused before going into the house. "Thank you InuYasha," she said as she watched Sesshoumaru go in the house. "I know he's upset." She turned and gave InuYasha a half smile. "He told me some of your family history."

"Yeah, well it is just history. We both know we can count on each other for help if it's ever needed."

"Thanks for helping anyway."

InuYasha watched as Sherrin hurried up to the house. He knew it was Sherrin they should be thanking. Finding her had been just what Sesshoumaru needed. Without Rin, he had grown cold and distant over the years and had a harder time keeping his temper in check. InuYasha knew that with Sherrin here, Sesshoumaru would be able to keep calm and not let his anger get the best of him. They would find out who took Moriko and why.

Notes:

Personal opinions and beliefs may be mentioned here:

I'm not into drugs or guns; I don't understand the attraction to them.

Personally, I think most exotic pets should be banned, shark fining should be banned and the Asian community needs to realize that just because its tradition doesn't mean it isn't incredibly stupid or right. If the tradition is killing off all the tigers and sharks, then the tradition isn't worth keeping.

Shark products are high in mercury and not a good food source.

25 to 42 days is the average travel from Tokyo to Port Elizabeth, at least for freighters carrying cars.

Chloroform can be lethal if given a high enough dose.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 Amba**

It was just getting light, the sun peeking up over the eastern horizon. The dock was quite when Amba arrived. There was no busy bustle going on, no loading or off loading. Amba looked around, surprised at how quiet it was. With his hair tied back and dressed in a dark blue t-shirt, black jeans and hiking boots, he was ready for work. He hadn't needed to go to the dock, but he had left a few crates that needed to be loaded on the ship.

Amba had arrived in Japan two years before, from the northeast coastal area of Siberia. His people had lived on the eastern coast for several thousand years. But the encroachment of humans had made them migrate north. Several times they moved, finally making their way to secluded valleys in the northeastern coastal area. There they lived without much contact with nosy humans. They were the last of their kind. They were "Tiger Folk", as they called themselves. Mostly subsistence hunters and gatherers, they tended to keep to the forest and away from human populations. On the rare occasions that humans encountered them, they gave the impression of indigenous people of the region. They were in fact actually demons, or supernatural beings; spirits of the forest. In their human form, they easily passed as human. They tended toward medium length reddish brown hair with darker streaks, light brown, almost amber colored eyes, fairly tall in height and athletic builds. In their true form, they were the very spirit of the forest, Amba, the tiger. Like the tiger, they preferred the quiet life of the forest.

Amba was different. A few Tiger Folk were very pale blond or white haired with blue or blue green eyes. Amba had the pale blond hair with light brown streaks and blue eyes. He also had the wonderer's soul. He enjoyed learning, traveling and exploring. He was one of a very few who actually left the valleys to explore. He had often wandered off for days at time exploring. By the time he was the equivalent of a human in their mid twenties, he decided to leave the secluded valley he was born in and go in search of his calling. He had ended up in Japan, taking classes at the one of the universities in Tokyo. His strength and willingness to work hard quickly got him a job at the dock. He learned about ships while working around them and at the university. He felt it might come in handy for traveling around the world by sea, a goal he had set for himself.

As he approached the spot where the crates had been, he found that they were gone. His first thought was that someone had loaded them onto the ship but something didn't smell right. He frowned, looking around. He was surprised to see a car parked next to the freighter. He sensed something wasn't quite right but couldn't figure out exactly what was wrong. His blue eyes scanned over the freighter but couldn't see anything. He sniffed, sifting out the normal dock smells and picked up the scent of several male humans and a female human. No, not quite human. Quiet and quick, using what his people call the "Silent Stalker" mode, he made his way aboard the freighter. Once on the main holding deck, he found the scents had split; the female and two males going down toward the hold, the rest going up to the top decks.

Amba followed the female's scent. Having worked on the ship, he knew his way around and quickly reached the hatch that led to the hold. Resuming his normal self, he opened the hatch and made his way slowly down the metal ladder. He paused long enough to assess the situation. The human males were gone but the female was down in the cavernous hold somewhere.

The ship was loaded with a variety of cargo, mostly in containers, but there were also crates and large sacks of grain in this hold. Amba made his way quietly through the maze of crates and sacks. The hold was dark, the only light source were a few bare bulbs that hung from the ceiling.

Amba sensed movement to his left, behind a crate and ducked into a crouch. The air made a whooshing sound as something flew past his head and landed with a clang on the floor. He ignored what was thrown and started to inch his way to the crate. A shape materialized from behind the crate and barreled into him, knocking him to the floor.

Moriko had heard the hatch open and saw a figure slowly descend the stairs. She thought one of the men was returning for whatever reason, so she had hid behind one of the crates.

She had been awake in the trunk of the car when the men checked on her. She feigned being unconscious, mainly to see if she could learn anything and partly to keep from being rendered unconscious again. She also didn't want them to find out she wasn't human.

She had considered fighting them if they took her to a secluded spot. She quickly decided that wasn't a good idea though. When they arrived at the ship, it was dark and there were four more men waiting. They all had guns, what kind she didn't know and didn't want to find out. As they took her out of the trunk, she had struggled as best she could without using all her strength. Still bound and taped, they had carried her onto the ship and dumped her into the hold. She had managed to make her way to a crate and put her back against it. The men did not return. After several minutes of listening, she knew that they had left.

Moriko looked around the hold. It was cavernous, dark, smelled of fish and other unidentifiable scents. There was a rusted metal stairway that led up to the hatch, one light bulb swinging on its cord. The light was off. After her quick survey of her prison, she tested the ropes that bound her hands and feet. They were tight; she was unable to slip out of them. She knew her Father had cameras on his ships and assumed correctly that this ship also had cameras also. She couldn't simply break the ropes; that would cause suspicion. She sat with her back to the corner of the crate and made it look like she was trying to break the ropes by rubbing them on the wood.

After what seemed like hours, she tested the ropes again. Were she a mere human, it would take much longer to weaken the ropes enough to break them. Since she wasn't the ropes parted easily for her. She untied the rest of the rope and ripped off the tape, pulling a bit of skin from her lips. She sat quietly; sure the men would come and tie her back up. No one came. She went to the stairs and went up. The hatch at the top was not locked and she opened it. Two guns were pointing at her face. The men behind the guns motioned her back down. They said something in a language she didn't understand and she slowly backed down the stairs. She noted the camera on the wall half way down. She had missed it going up. It explained how the men had known to be there and why they hadn't come to tie her up again.

Left alone, she sat by the crate and considered her predicament. She was being held for some reason she didn't understand. Her captors didn't know what she was, they thought she was human. She couldn't do anything to change that perception, which meant she couldn't use her strength and abilities to escape.

That left her with only one option. She needed to let Hikaru know where she was. If he was close enough, she could send him a psychic message. She wasn't sure of the range of their abilities but she needed to try. She was interrupted by the arrival of the unknown man. She picked up a metal pipe and threw it at the intruder. His reflexes were quick and the pipe missed. She tackled the man, intending to knock him silly. He wasn't human.

Amba caught the hand that was poised to strike him. The girl was straddling him, one hand on his chest the other still in the air, ready to strike. Holding the girl's arm he said softly, "Hey, I'm not here to hurt you."

"Who are you and what do you want?" Moriko relaxed her arm a bit, studying the young man. He was about her age, ruggedly handsome, with a straight nose, strong square chin, and startling blue eyes. Even though he was lying on his back, she could tell he was tall. He was also a youkai.

"I work here, at the dock. My name is Amba." He studied the girl. She wasn't really a girl, more like a young woman, his age. She would have passed for any of the Japanese girls he knew from the University. She had a beautiful delicate round face, her hair was long and silky black, and she wasn't very tall. Her eyes were the only thing that made her look a little different; they were more of a lighter brown than the usual dark brown of Asian people.

Moriko pulled her arm out of his grip and sat up, allowing Amba to sit up as well. "You're a youkai."

Amba frowned. "Youkai? If by that term you mean demon or spirit, then yes. You're half demon, how come you haven't escaped?"

"Don't you know you're not supposed to let humans know what you are?" She frowned at him.

"I know the guidelines but why would that stop you from escaping?"

Moriko pointed to the camera she had earlier confirmed was there. "Not very bright are you?"

He looked where she pointed then grinned at her. "I've been told I can be thick headed."

Moriko raised her eyebrows at him. "Now you're stuck in here with me."

"Could be worse."

"How?" Moriko couldn't understand this young man's sense of humor in such a situation.

"I could be here by myself." Amba grinned again. He understood the seriousness of the situation. He could be killed. But something about this girl grabbed his attention. He wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Moriko frowned again. 'I'm stuck with an idiot,' she thought. "You don't realize the danger you just walked into."

"Oh, I understand the danger. So whatever happens we have act human. I agree with the guidelines set by the powerful dog demon…"

"Father."

"What?" Amba looked at the girl, not sure he heard right.

"The dog demon is my Father." Moriko spoke slowly as if to a child.

"Oh boy." Amba sat looking at the girl, thinking. "What's your name?"

"Moriko."

"Moriko. Nice to meet you. Now we need to figure out what to do." Finding out she was the daughter of the most powerful demon made him more determined to help her. Amba had heard that this "youkai", as Moriko had called him, was very strict in enforcing those guidelines.

"There is one thing I can do." Moriko closed her eyes and concentrated very hard. She pictured the hold of the ship then thought of Hikaru. She finished what Amba's arrival had interrupted.

Amba was about to say something when the hatch opened and several men with guns came down the stairs.

They both turned and watched as the men came down. One had stayed at the top, gun at ready, while the other three came down, all with guns drawn. Amba noted the guns were automatics. Some might consider him thick headed but not stupid. He wasn't about to go up against automatic weapons.

"_Aktivieren." _The one in the lead made a moving motion with his gun.

Slowly, Moriko and Amba got up and walked over to the ladder. They were motioned up the ladder. The man at the top still had his gun trained on them as did the three behind them. They all slowly went up the stairs and as they reached the top, Amba noted more men. He and Moriko were now surrounded by eight men. One was talking on a cell phone.

Amba studied the men. They worked as a team and seemed to be ready for war. They were all wearing dark combat type uniforms and carried an arsenal of weaponry. Amba had no desire to find out if he could survive an onslaught of automatic gun fire.

The one man, built like an athlete and tall, finished speaking on the phone and put it away. He said something to the other men. The men motioned Amba and Moriko to the gang plank leading off the ship. Amba quietly complied. They spoke a language he didn't understand but the motions were obvious. He and Moriko were to walk down the gang plank to the two men waiting on the dock. He took Moriko's hand, more for moral support than any other reason and slowly made their way down. The eight men followed them down. The tall athletic man spoke sharply, jabbing at the pair with his gun. Amba and Moriko moved faster.

At gun point, the pair was herded to the car Amba had seen earlier. It was an SUV, black in color. They all piled into the vehicle, Amba and Moriko tightly packed between two of the guards in the back seat. Two more sat in front, with the driver. Five armed men against two unarmed humans. Or so it appeared. Amba knew he could take these five guys on his own terms, but not in a car, not with Moriko.

The athlete guy, as Amba thought of him, gave instructions to the driver and moved away from the car. He and the last two men walked down the dock and disappeared around the side of a building.

As the SUV drove past the building, a black sedan pulled out behind them. The two cars then headed away from the dock. No one spoke as the two cars drove to a private airport. Once at the airport, Amba and Moriko were surrounded by the eight armed men and herded toward a waiting Gulfstream.

After being herded onto the plane, Amba listened carefully to what the men were saying. He guessed the language that the men were speaking to be German, though that didn't help him any, he didn't know enough of German to understand what was being said. He did recognize the word "Africa" and surmised that's where they were headed.

The plane took off right away, heading for its distant destination. Though there was plenty of space on the plane for maneuvering, surrounded by automatic weapons left them little choice but to sit. So once again, there was nothing Amba or Moriko could do. In keeping with their "human" identity, they would have to wait until the right opportunity presented itself.

Moriko sat stiffly in her seat, holding Amba's hand for moral support and closed her eyes. It took her a while to relax, but finally she thought of Hikaru and reached out to him. She briefly felt Hikaru's mind and sent an image of a plane. She leaned back in the seat for a few minutes with her eyes closed. It was tiring to send such a mental image and she just wanted to rest.

Amba watched her intently for a minute, having no real idea what she just did only that it took lots of concentration. He could sense she wasn't harmed in any way, just tired. He let her rest, knowing she would eventually tell him what she did. With nothing else to do, he too leaned back in the seat and waited.

Notes:

I went over this chapter and made some corrections and added a bit.

The Tiger Folk have two abilities they can use;

Silent stalker mode enables them to stalk an enemy without being seen or heard.

Nature mode enables them to understand the "talk" of nature, to communicate with the natural world around them.

The pale Tiger Folk have the added ability to freeze things with a touch.

I am guessing that youkai or demons would have a hard time surviving automatic weapon fire to the head and chest. Based on my own opinions and on comments about Naraku's heart.

_Aktivieren means get moving in German, at least I hope it does, that was the translation I got._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4 Flight to Africa**_

Lenka put the phone down with a frown. He was dressed in silk pajamas, light blue with darker blue trim. He looked out the bedroom window at the darkness. It was late and most of the city had already gone to bed.

His man in Tokyo had called just as Lenka was getting ready for bed.

"We have an added element."

"What do you mean added element?" Lenka had asked.

"We have another hostage."

"Who?"

"A dock hand. We don't know why he was here. He managed to find his way into the hold and found the girl."

Lenka sighed, irritated. This was unexpected. He needed to know what the dock hand knew and why he had shown up. He didn't want his men to do the questioning; they had a tendency to get too rough before getting answers.

"Change of plans. Fly to the estate. I'll keep them there until I make contact with Takashi. Contact me when you've landed."

"Right."

Putting the phone down, Lenka knew he'd have at least 17 hours before he heard anything. Turning out the bedside lamp, he got into bed and considered this new problem. He wasn't very happy about it. He had to come up with another "accident" for this new development. Too many accidents could cause problems. He would have to be very careful to make it work. He still had other arrangements to make in the morning. Putting this recent development at the back of his mind, he relaxed and went to sleep.

An early riser, Lenka was up after only five hours of sleep. After a shower, he dressed in a light blue silk suit then sat down to breakfast. He thought about his problem and came up with a solution. After breakfast, Lenka made the other call. He was told that the shipment was ready to go.

'Perfect.' Lenka thought. 'At least one thing is going as planned.' He liked everything organized and on schedule. The added hostage threw off the organized schedule just enough to upset Lenka. It meant he had to reorganize his plans. And that was a waste of time and money to him.

Lenka frowned, thinking. He'd wait for his man to call and then head up to his estate. It was further to the north and a little west and would take about an hour to get to. He didn't spend much time there, preferring to "entertain" at his apartment in the city. So for Lenka, this trip was a waste of time. He did take government officials to the estate for "canned" hunts, spreading his wealth around and keeping the officials under his control. He spent the next half hour going over his schedule, adjusting it to fit this new development.

The rest of Lenka's morning was spent on the phone, making sure deliveries were on time, setting up a meeting with a dealer in Malaysia who dealt in trafficking wildlife, checking freighter schedules and organizing a rhino hunt. The rhino hunt took extra planning, as it involved a private reserve up near Addo Elephant National Park and would require plane fly-overs to search for the endangered animals.

It had been just after noon when Sherrin had asked Hikaru to stay with the animals and left with Sesshoumaru and InuYasha. Hikaru had waited for them to come back, feeling frustrated at not being able to do anything. He sat on the pale blue couch, trying to relax. Maverick, the cat had joined him, purring as he kneaded Hikaru's thigh. Hikaru had just begun to relax with the cat when he had gotten an image from Moriko. Startled, he had sat up, concentrating. She had been on a freighter, now was on a plane. He didn't know where she was headed though. He had tried to get more information, but the connection had been broken. Again, he didn't get any sense of impending danger; only a sense of something not quite right. It still bothered him that he hadn't acted on the sensation when he first felt it. He knew what Moriko would say:

"I don't expect you to come running each time I worry about something."

It didn't make him feel any better. He was determined to find her and help in any way he could.

Dumping the cat on the floor, he got up and paced around the house. He thought about the freighter and the plane, trying to remember anything about them. Sitting back down on the couch, Hikaru sighed. Unable to figure out the where Moriko was taken, he decided to consider the why she was taken. He felt a cold wet nose on his hand and looked to see Moose trying to get his attention. He scratched behind the big dog's ears.

"What are we missing, Moose?"

It was around mid afternoon when Hikaru heard his Father and Sherrin come back. He got up to meet them at the door.

"Learn anything?" he asked.

Sesshoumaru shook his head.

Sherrin came in behind Sesshoumaru. "I'm making some tea, anyone else want some?"

Hikaru and Sesshoumaru both nodded. Sherrin headed for the kitchen, followed by the cat and dog. As she made the tea, she listened to what Hikaru had to say.

"Moriko sent me a message. She was first on a freighter, then on a plane. I didn't get any more than that." Hikaru shook his head. "If only I had acted when I first felt she was upset."

Sesshoumaru knew from experience what Moriko's reaction was when Hikaru "came to her rescue" when he felt that she was upset. "You are not to blame." He told Hikaru, though he himself felt much the same as Hikaru: that he should have done more to protect Moriko.

Sherrin came out with the tea. She could tell both men were blaming themselves for Moriko's disappearance. Handing them their tea, she said "There's nothing either of you could have done to prevent Moriko being taken. So let's figure out where she is and get her back." She had their attention. "Hikaru, you said she was on a freighter. Let's look into that."

Sesshoumaru set aside his emotions, knowing he'd think better with a logical mind unencumbered by anger. Sherrin's suggestion helped him to look at the situation from all angles; not just that Moriko was taken, but who took her, why they took her and where were they taking her.

"I know it won't be easy, but can we check out the docks for any clues?"

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Maybe some scent we can track or someone who saw something."

Sherrin sat down at the small desk with Sesshoumaru's lap top and started looking up shipyards.

After dropping off Sesshoumaru and Sherrin, InuYasha went back to his office. He had someone in mind that could help him find out what he wanted to know. He made a phone call.

"Hey mangy wolf," InuYasha said when he heard the voice.

"Dog Breath. What a surprise. What do you need?"

InuYasha and Kouga's relationship was an odd one. Like with Sesshoumaru, InuYasha knew he could count on Kouga to help him out. Kouga had long ago accepted the relationship between Kagome and InuYasha, but he still cared for Kagome and felt protective of her. Of course he had his own mate, Ayame, who had turned out to be a good choice.

"I need some info on a couple of men. They're most likely German mercenaries." He explained about the two men snooping around the shipyard and gave a fairly accurate description.

"I'll get right on it."

"Thanks." InuYasha hung up and sat back in the chair. His office, one level down from Sesshoumaru's, was all walls, no windows. The room was done in an off white color, the walls blank but for a few pictures of mountain scenery. There was a bank of monitors that showed scenes of the building and dock. There were security cameras at every entrance and exit of the building, as well as one at each boat slip, where the ships docked.

But that wasn't all the security. There were guards as well, humans as well as youkai. So the company was well protected. The only weakness in the company was that the individuals who worked there weren't protected when they left. This was the weakness that was exploited by the two men.

While Kouga was trying to find out who was responsible, InuYasha was concentrating on the why.

'Okay, the possibilities.' InuYasha thought to himself. 'Kidnapping, for money, blackmail or for slavery?' The kidnapping for money didn't seem to be right, as no one had contacted them. 'Blackmail.' He considered this carefully. There was only one reason why anyone would try to blackmail them. If someone had found out what he and Sesshoumaru were, there really was no need to kidnap Moriko to get money, except as extra insurance. Most likely, if Moriko were kidnapped because someone knew what they were, it was to study her and maybe get information out of her. 'Slavery then.' InuYasha thought about it. He spent about an hour researching human slavery.

He found that it was mostly poor European countries that trafficked in human slavery. However, there were groups that worked in other countries to find suitable "partners" for rich European businessmen. InuYasha felt this was a possibility but it didn't quite fit with the men checking out the company. Frowning, he considered what reasons the men would have for checking out Shiro Inu Exports.

His thoughts went back to blackmail. It was the only thing he could think of for taking Moriko and checking into the company.

He was still thinking about the why an hour later when Kouga called him back.

"Yup, hired mercenaries. Work for a shipping company out of South Africa, Port Lyon Import-Export, owned by one Henrik Lenka."

InuYasha frowned. The name Lenka sounded familiar. "Thanks Kouga."

"No problem. Anything else?"

"Find out all you can about Lenka."

"Sure, just tell me why all the interest."

InuYasha explained about the two guys checking out the company and Moriko's disappearance.

This bit of information surprised Kouga. He let out a low growl. "Any help you need just let me know."

InuYasha grunted a thanks and hung up the phone. It rang. Picking it up again, InuYasha growled a hello. It was Sherrin.

"We're going to the docks. Hikaru got an image from Moriko about being on a freighter, then a plane. We'll pick you up."

"Right." InuYasha hung up again and got ready to leave.

Sesshoumaru pulled the car around the front of the shipyard office where InuYasha was waiting.

InuYasha got in the back seat next to Hikaru. "The freighter most likely belongs to a South African company, Port Lyon Import-Export." InuYasha informed his brother of what Kouga had learned.

Sherrin had a list of ship yards she had gotten from the internet. She had made notes about each shipyard. "Lets check the ones that aren't as big and busy first."

They made their way around Tokyo Bay, checking out various shipyards. On their fifth stop, they found something. This shipyard, while in view of the shipping lanes, was quiet; it seemed almost deserted. There was a freighter docked but no one around; no workers busy loading or unloading.

Sesshoumaru and InuYasha slowly made their way along the dock, sorting through the numerous scents. Hikaru checked the freighter, but he couldn't tell if it was the one Moriko had been on or not.

Sherrin had followed Sesshoumaru, watching how he worked. He would walk slowly, his eyes going over every building, every object, looking for clues. He would pause occasionally, as if thinking. Sherrin knew he was sorting through the smells, learning what he could.

Sesshoumaru stopped suddenly, picking up the scent of an unknown youkai mixed in with Moriko's. He growled softly. There were also the scents of eight different humans with weapons. Sesshoumaru sifted through the scents, sorting out the humans and the youkai. He concentrated on the youkai to get an idea of what the youkai was; a young male, feline in origin. He growled again.

InuYasha looked up at the sound of the growl. He too had picked up the scent. "Recognize it?" he asked.

Sesshoumaru shook his head, frowning. He knew of a group of feline youkai living in remote areas of the northern part of Russia but had never met them. He wondered if this youkai was one and what he was doing here.

"What did you find?" Hikaru asked, joining Sherrin. He too picked up the scents.

"Moriko was here, along with an unknown youkai." Sesshoumaru took one last look around. "There is nothing more to learn here."

Back at the company office, InuYasha had a message from Kouga to call him back. As he sat at his desk, Sesshoumaru, Sherrin and Hikaru went up to Sesshoumaru's office. Picking up the phone, he dialed the number. "What have you got for me?"

"You won't like this. This guy needs to be taken out." What Kouga had learned turned his stomach. Considering his own distant past, that said a lot. He told InuYasha everything he had found out: trafficking weapons, slaves, endangered animal parts and a no tell policy.

InuYasha growled. He had no idea how Kouga managed to learn these things and he didn't really want to know. Kouga had earned a reputation as a very efficient private investigator. Incorporating the skills of his favorite literary detective, he surpassed his role model, the great Sherlock Holmes. InuYasha knew that whatever Kouga found out, it was true. So the only thing that made sense was…

"Slave trade," Kouga said, finishing InuYasha's thought.

"I need to tell Sesshoumaru."

"Let me know if you need my help going after this guy."

"I'll let him know. Thanks Kouga." InuYasha hung up and headed upstairs to Sesshoumaru's office. Sherrin had looked up the Port Lyon Import-Export shipping company while InuYasha was talking to Kouga. She didn't learn much, other than the company shipped cargo around the world.

Sesshoumaru stood at the window, looking out. He turned when InuYasha came through the door.

"The company is owned by a guy named Lenka." He looked at Sesshoumaru. "He could have taken lessons from Naraku."

Sesshoumaru frowned. To put Lenka in the same league as Naraku meant that the guy was totally evil. And he had Moriko.

"So he took Moriko to sell her as a slave?" Sherrin shuddered at the idea. She had seen the movie, "Taken" where the main character's daughter had been kidnapped for slavery. While the movie was fiction, the slavery was not.

"No."

"No?" InuYasha looked at his brother, surprised.

Sesshoumaru had been remembering a phone conversation with a man named Lenka.

"No. About a year ago, Lenka tried to buy the company. This is about the company."

Outwardly, Sesshoumaru was calm. Inwardly, he was seething with anger. He kept the anger in check, to be unleashed when he met Lenka.

"We're going to Africa."

Amba and Moriko sat quietly on the plane, trying to figure out how to escape. Though they could escape mid-flight, there was no way to explain such a feat. Their chances of how they overpowered eight armed men plus the pilot and co-pilot and escape or fly the plane were slim. So their only chance was to wait for the plane the land and make a run for it. There was also the need of information. Why were they being taken? Had someone figured out what they were? Or was she, Moriko, the target? Perhaps to be sold as a slave? Or was it something else?

As far as she could tell, she was wanted alive. But that didn't give her much information. If someone had figured out what they were, they would more than likely want live specimens to study, or she would have been killed outright. If it was the slave trade, she would need to be alive and healthy. Beyond those two reasons, she couldn't think of anything else.

Amba watched the men, looking for lapses in concentration. While the men talked among themselves, at least two were always vigilant, guns at ready. Amba had already come to the same conclusion as Moriko. There was no feasible way for a human to escape such a predicament. If they could be sure no one found out about the incident, they might get away with it. He was sure Moriko's father would keep the incident as quiet as possible, but it was sure that someone in authority was going to find out about it.

After several hours, with nothing to do, Amba and Moriko rested. They closed their eyes, not fully asleep, but dozing lightly.

The plane bounced, jolting Amba completely awake. He looked out the nearest window. The plane had encountered a storm and was skirting around it. Judging by his internal clock, Amba estimated they had been in the air about seventeen hours. He didn't know the flight time between Japan and Africa but he thought they should have been at their destination by now. He carefully studied their captors. The men were hushed, nervous. That was not a good sign. Nervous men with guns caused accidents.

The plane bounced again as it hit cross currents of wind from the storm. Moriko sat up straighter and held onto Amba's arm. They could both hear the engines growling and straining against the storm. Finally, after what seemed like forever, but was in fact only an hour, the plane reached the edge of the storm and turned back towards its original course. The men relaxed a bit. Another hour or so and they'd be back on land.

It was when the pilot mentioned their approach to the landing strip that the engines sputtered, whined and quit. For a moment, there was absolute silence. Then as the plane nosed downward, the men erupted in yelling. Several flung their guns down to hang onto their seats for dear life, screaming. The plane shook and shuddered, throwing anyone who wasn't holding on out of their seats.

Keeping calm, Amba and Moriko held on to each other and their seats. On either side of them, their guards were yelling. One was waving his gun around and yelling at them, as if this was their fault. Amba was sure the guy would end up shooting them.

The plane shuddered harder, dropped several hundred feet then leveled out as the pilot fought to gain control. The plane continued down in a more controlled fall. The men who had been thrown from their seats dragged themselves back. For a moment it looked like the plane might actually make a safe landing. Then the plane dropped the last few hundred feet like a rock. It hit the runway with a hard jolt, sending everyone flying. Men and guns flew every which way, banging into chairs, walls and even one went through a window.

The plane spun around as it slid off the runway, breaking a wing as it hit a boulder and slammed into a large stand of trees and stopped.

Amba and had kept their wits about them, rolling into protective balls between the seats to keep from being thrown around. As soon as the plane came to a stop, they took advantage of the confusion and went out the already broken window into the trees.

_Notes:_

_Sorry for taking so long on updating. Apart from being busy, I look up everything. I have been spending a lot of time on other sites. Also, I don't like writing with people watching, so I wait for alone times to write. They are few and far between. One place I spend lots of time is "Africam", the live streaming 24/7 video of a water hole in South Africa. As I'm writing this, a herd of elephants showed up. So I'm bouncing back and forth.  
_

_Again, you may find personal opinions here as well as information. _

_There is a 7 hour difference between Japan and South Africa. So if 3pm in Japan, then 8am Africa_

_I do not approve of canned hunts or trophy hunting/fishing. Both are not only a waste of a life, but takes away from the gene pool and health of the population. If I want to se a dead stuffed animal, I'll go to a museum._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5** **Plans and Setbacks**:

"We're going to Africa."

Sesshoumaru's announcement made everyone pause. Sitting at his desk, Sesshoumaru had thought about the best possible solution to the situation. Getting Moriko back alive was the priority. Stopping Lenka was secondary. Going to Lenka was the fastest way to find Moriko.

InuYasha considered what his brother said. It wasn't an option; it was what they were going to do. He just had to find the quickest, safest way to go.

Sherrin sighed. She hoped Sesshoumaru hadn't meant right away. She was tired and ready for some much needed sleep.

"InuYasha, you go through all the information we have so we know what we're facing." Sesshoumaru nodded at Sherrin. "You are going home to sleep." While Sesshoumaru was a man of action, he wasn't insensitive to Sherrin's needs.

Sherrin smiled thankfully.

"Hikaru, you help InuYasha. Find the fastest route to Africa, the closest place to land at Lenka's place."

After Sesshoumaru and Sherrin left, InuYasha and Hikaru got busy. Unlike Sherrin, they didn't need the rest she did. They could keep going for a few more days before needing sleep if they had to. Food on the other hand was a different matter. Even a half youkai needed to eat. Telling Hikaru to find food, InuYasha listed everything Kouga had told him about Lenka.

Hikaru headed for the kitchen area. The little kitchen was situated on the main floor, in the back. Coming out of the stairwell, Hikaru walked past the main desk and was greeted by the secretary, Yumi. She was a bright, cheerful person, slim with short black hair, dark laughing eyes and an inquisitive mind. However she was not normally a nosy person, she didn't usually ask what was going on. But she was concerned about the comings and goings of the company's owners and how everyone seemed tense.

"What's going Mr. Takashi?"

Hikaru paused before answering. Of the several humans working here, Yumi was the most knowledgeable of them. She had to know the ins and outs of the company, the schedules, time tables and routines. She knew the Takashi's were a close knit family and didn't divulge much of their private lives, so she wasn't aware of the true nature of the family's origins. Hikaru knew he had to be careful what he said.

"Moriko hasn't been to her classes; we are all looking for her."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?" Yumi hadn't considered something like that. Moriko didn't strike her as one to ditch classes and go off somewhere.

"Thank you, but no. Uncle Inu is making inquiries." Hikaru gave her a small smile and went on to the kitchen. He found some ramen noodles and made enough for the two of them and headed back up to the security office.

"I told Yumi that Moriko hasn't been to her classes," Hikaru told his uncle as he set the food down.

"I've told some of the security guards the same thing." InuYasha wolfed down the noodles. "I also called Detective Yaro at the police station. He'll have some of his men keep a look out for her, but all they know is she hasn't been to her classes."

Hikaru nodded. "Good idea." This way, there was a show to the authorities that the company was a concerned and law-abiding member of the city, but not to the point of the authorities too involved in the case and learn something they didn't need to know.

Hikaru slowly ate his own noodles, mulling over what he knew. Moriko had not indicated she was in any immediate danger. This most likely meant that she was needed alive for something.

"If Father is correct," Hikaru thought out loud, "and this has something to do with the company, then Moriko is being used as some sort of bargaining chip."

InuYasha thought of what Kouga had mentioned. "Most likely, this guy has an 'accident' planned."

Hikaru frowned. "What do you mean?" Though he had a pretty good idea what InuYasha meant.

"This Lenka likes things nice and neat." He held up papers Kouga had sent over while they were out at the docks. "If you cause him trouble, you have an 'accident'." He handed one paper over to Hikaru.

Hikaru read the paper, a list of all Lenka's competitors who had "accidents", and shook his head. Even in this "civilized" century, there were humans who used the "kill the competition" as the rule rather than exception.

" You'd think the authorities would make a connection to all these 'accidents'." Hikaru commented as he handed the paper back.

"Unless of course the authorities are on Lenka's payroll." InuYasha read through some more of the papers. "It seems Lenka is used to getting his way, and makes sure the authorities agree with him." InuYasha considered Lenka and others like him and compared them to Sesshoumaru and himself. People like Lenka thought that money was the key to power and that everyone responded to money. This has proven to not always be true, and can cause the downfall of such people like Lenka. Lenka was overconfident everything would go his way; this thinking was his weakness.

Sesshoumaru on the other hand, had learned the hard way that not everything will go his way. He had also learned to expect the unexpected and has the ability to adjust to situations accordingly. Nor has he been interested in power for power's sake. For a long time, he had wanted to prove he was more powerful than any other. He had since learned that being more powerful doesn't always make you a better person. He had learned that humility and compassion added to strength, and that's what made you a better person.

InuYasha, having learned the same thing, felt fairly sure they would get Lenka in the end, but whether or not they got Moriko back, he wasn't so sure.

Sherrin made some tea and poured herself a cup. As she turned around, a small black dragon suddenly appeared from nowhere. Startled by the sudden appearance, she dropped her cup as she cried out in surprise.

Sesshoumaru came into the kitchen to see what was wrong. Spotting the black dragonette, he held out his arm for the little creature to land on.

"This is Kodo," Sesshoumaru introduced the little dragon to Sherrin. The little dragon's eyes whirled in various shades of blue as he chirped softly at Sherrin. Sherrin extended her hand, letting the dragon get her scent.

"Isn't there another one? A white one?" Sherrin had a memory flash of two little ferrets, one black and one white, stealing a staff.

"Hi'Iki sent this one," Sesshoumaru said as he took a piece of paper from the little black dragon. He read the note and showed it to Sherrin.

It read "Not easy to find. Will let you know."

Frowning, Sherrin asked, "What's not easy to find?"

"There was the scent of a male feline youkai at the dock. Hi'Iki is looking into who it was and what his plans are." Sesshoumaru looked intently at the little dragon. "The sooner the better." The dragon chirped and was gone.

Sherrin went back and made another cup of tea after cleaning up the cup she dropped. "You have some idea who this youkai is?" Sherrin sat down at the table with the new cup.

"He may be from a group of youkai living in the remote parts of Russia. Hi'Iki is going to find out."

Sherrin finished her tea. She wasn't hungry, just really tired. It wasn't actually that late, only about nine o'clock, but with the time change, jet lag and stress of everything that had happened, made her want to curl up in a warm bed and forget about everything, at least for a while. She rinsed out her cup and left it in the sink and headed for the bedroom. As she got ready for bed, she asked, "You think this youkai has something to do with Moriko's disappearance?"

"I don't know. His scent was mixed in with hers only at the dock, not at her house." Sesshoumaru sat on the bed.

Sherrin, now in a pink night shirt and pink flowered flannel pants, sat next to Sesshoumaru. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled close. "I'm sure we'll discover answers in Africa," she said as her eyes drifted close.

With the rhino hunt set to begin in two days, Lenka made plans for his "guests". A canned lion hunt gone wrong sounded like an ideal way to get rid of unwanted visitors. He would make it look like he invited the head of the Takashi family to discuss business and take a little hunting trip. He first made arrangements to get a lion and have it sent to the estate. On the few occasions that he entertained foreigners, they usually stayed at the estate and there was no need to make arrangements. To make it look like he was actually entertaining a business associate, he let his company know he was making a business deal with the owner of a Japanese shipping company.

After that was taken care of, he sat down and made a list of questions he needed to ask the unexpected hostage. Committing the questions to memory, he carefully burned the list, tossing the burning paper into the fireplace.

He was just sitting down to lunch when his cell phone rang.

"It better be good news," he growled into the tiny speaker. He was not happy to learn that the plane was delayed due to a storm. "How much longer?"

"About an hour" the crisp clear voice on the other end said.

"Very well. I'll meet you at the estate in an hour." Lenka put his cell phone away. He decided to go over shipping rosters for the next hour until it was time to leave.

Lenka drove carefully up to his estate, going over in his mind things he needed to do. He was totally unprepared for the sight that greeted him when he reached the little airstrip at the back of the property: utter chaos. Men were running around trying to put a fire, the plane was a wreck, and three men were lying on the ground, not moving.

Unable to believe what he was seeing, Lenka got out of the car and slowly made his way over to the mess.

Seeing his head man searching the ground around the plane, Lenka called the man over. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Lenka asked "What happened?"

Killian, the gunman with the athletic build, explained about the plane going down. "The storm caused us to go farther than expected and we ran out of fuel." Killian dabbed a cloth at the blood seeping from a gash on the side of his head. "The prisoners are gone. I can't find any trace of them."

"What!" Anger getting the best of him, Lenka started yelling at Killian. "How the hell do two people just disappear from a plane crash? Why wasn't there enough fuel! Damn-it, I can't trust anyone to do anything right!" Lenka looked mad enough to hit something. Killian shook his head and backed up a step. "I'm sorry sir. The plane was fueled. We didn't know the storm used up all the fuel."

Ignoring this explanation, Lenka demanded to know about the two prisoners.

"Everyone was thrown around when we crashed. They probably got thrown out of the plane." He indicated where one body was lying on the ground. "Gunther went through the window, killed on impact. Mac and Warin are in serious condition, they need a doctor." Killian watched his boss to judge what the response would be. Lenka didn't always care about what happened to his men, but Gunther, Mac and Warin were among his best bodyguards.

Lenka walked over to check on Mac and Warin. Both appeared to be in bad shape. The afternoon heat didn't make it any better for the men. Lenka pulled out his cell phone and called his own private doctor. Because of Lenka's uncaring habits, he needed a doctor on the payroll that didn't ask questions and cared only about the money. He had managed to find one in Johannesburg. After the doctor acknowledged that he was on the way, Lenka then told Killian to do a quick search around the area for signs of the missing prisoners.

Taking a couple of men with minor injuries, Killian walked around the entire estate, starting at the plane and walking out in ever widening circles. The area around the plane was a mess of his men's tracks, the plane's skid marks and debris. Apart from the tracks his men left, there was nothing. He finished as the doctor showed up.

Lenka was pacing back and forth as the doctor took over the two seriously injured men. Killian sent two men to get rid of the body before reporting to Lenka. "Sorry sir, nothing."

"Nothing?"

"No sir, not even a scuff mark."

Frowning Lenka asked "How can that be?" He worried about what the two people knew and where they had gone. He didn't need any unexpected visitors showing up asking incriminating questions.

"We need to do a more thorough search." He ordered Killian to round up enough men and go over every square inch of land in the surrounding countryside. "Find them!"

"It'll be dark before we're done."

"I don't care if you have to search in the dark! Find them!"

Nodding, Killian reluctantly agreed. He gathered what men were available and headed out. He would need more men and considered who he could call on short notice and was close enough to arrive before dark. Flipping open his cell phone, he made several calls as he walked.

Lenka now had to reconsider his plans. He would still contact Takashi and give him the ultimatum, but he'd just leave out the fact Takashi's daughter was missing. He'd go ahead with the original plan and adjust it to suit the new circumstances. He would use the dockhand as an excuse for Takashi's daughter disappearing into the bush. He felt he could make it work.

Leaving the clean up to his personnel, he made his way back to his car and drove back to the estate. Parking the car in the shade of an umbrella acacia tree, he went into the house. The house was nearly mansion size. There was an entryway, a short hallway with three doors and an open archway leading into a large livingroom. The first door led to a bathroom, the second to the kitchen and the third to a den. To the left of the archway was a staircase that led to the upper floor. Lenka went into the den. There was a desk, bookcases, a computer on the desk, an end table and couch by the only window. The room was done in browns and beige, with the carpet and walls in the beige colors and the furniture in browns.

After a quick search at the desk, Lenka found Takashi's office number and made the call.

"Hello?"

"Hello, I'm calling to talk to Mr. Takashi please."

"I'm sorry; Mr. Takashi is out. How can I help you?"

Lenka wasn't pleased to get some underling at the office. "When he gets in have him call this number and ask for Mr. Lenka."

"I'll give him the message."

In his frustration at the current events, he had forgotten about the time difference in Japan. He put the cell phone down on the end table and sat on the couch. Chances were Mr. Takashi wouldn't be in until the morning. He'd simply have to wait. He went to the kitchen and made himself a drink and something to eat, as the staff was out cleaning up after the accident. He went back to the den, shut the door and sat on the couch, waiting for Takashi to call him.

InuYasha had sent Hikaru home and stayed late at the office to prepare for the flight to Africa. He was surprised when the phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hello, I'm calling to talk to Mr. Takashi please."

"I'm sorry; Mr. Takashi is out. How can I help you?"

"When he gets in have him call this number and ask for Mr. Lenka."

"I'll give him the message." InuYasha was surprised at the request and was certain it was Lenka himself who had called. He called Sesshoumaru.

"So you think it was Lenka himself?"

"Yeah. Didn't sound like some secretary asking to speak with you; more of a demand." InuYasha's voice should what he thought of people demanding things from him.

Sesshoumaru gave a little grunt of agreement. "I'll head over there now."

He first checked on Sherrin. She was sleeping soundly. Moose was laying on the floor next to the bed. He looked up at Sesshoumaru. "Keep an eye on her." Sesshoumaru told the big dog. Moose waved his tail and stayed where he was.

As he went into the livingroom, Sesshoumaru paused to tell Hikaru where he was going and to be alert to any thing strange.

"Something happen?" Hikaru knew his Father wouldn't leave Sherrin unless it was important.

"It seems Lenka may have called." Sesshoumaru left without saying more. Hikaru correctly guessed that his Father was going to call this Lenka guy back.

Notes:

I know both Sessh and Inu would prefer to go rushing headlong into danger using their abilities, but in the modern world, this would not be advisable if they wish to keep their true natures a secret.

I just want to add here, thanks for all the reviews of my stories. I hope I have gotten a little bit better at writing. If you have any tips about making my story better, please feel free to do so- I know I'm not the best writer. As stated before, I prefer writing when no one else is around, which is not often. I also have to be in the mood for writing.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6 On the Run**_

Amba and Moriko ran straight for the trees and kept going. Moriko's tan pants and light brown t-shirt helped her blend in with the African bush. Amba on the other hand, with his pale blond hair and light blue shirt, was a little more noticeable. Keeping a hand on Moriko, Amba went into stealth mode, to cover their tracks. He called on his tiger instincts to lead them away from danger and to find safety. But this was Africa, not his homeland. He' would still have to be on the lookout for danger from animals he wasn't used to.

After an hour of running, Amba stopped to get his bearings. He knew he was headed north and slightly east. They stayed away from dirt roads and trails, keeping to the brush. The terrain was rough, making the going slower than normal, so they had covered about six miles in that hour.

"Where are we going?" Moriko pulled her hand out of Amba's and checked herself over. Neither of them had taken the time to check for injuries in their initial escape. Now Moriko took the time. Apart from some bruises and small scrapes that would heal quickly, she was fine.

"I have no idea other than north and east." Amba checked himself as well. He found nothing more alarming than a scratch on the head, which was already healing. He looked around the area, noting dense brush, trees, and grass. The land took a dip about a hundred yards ahead, most likely a gully. Amba thought that would be a good place to travel. There was plenty of brush and most important, they would be below the horizon, not as easy to spot.

"Come on, we'll go this way," Amba said as he took Moriko's hand once more. Moriko didn't move and pulled her hand away. Amba looked at Moriko, confused by her refusal to move. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just want to know why you keep hold of me. I am quite capable of keeping up with you and I don't exactly need a babysitter."

Amba smiled, understanding her reluctance to have him pull her around by the hand. "Sorry, I want to keep us as invisible as possible."

"And how is holding my hand going to help?" Moriko was a bit skeptical about Amba's intentions.

"It's easier to show you." He first looked around then chose a direction off to the north, away from the gully, and walked a little ways away. He concentrated a bit and went into stalker mode.

Moriko watched him walk away, somewhat confused. She guessed he was going to show her some skill he had. In a blink, he faded out for a second. As he came back toward her, he made barely a sound and she noted he seemed to blend into the background. He was difficult to see and hear, even for her.

Amba smiled as he reached her. "It's called stalker mode by my clan. It's similar to what the tiger does when it goes hunting."

Moriko nodded, understanding. "You have the ability of being basically invisible."

"Yes. My holding your hand helps to keep you invisible as well." He pointed to where he had walked. "Those tracks lead in that direction. Our captors will follow in that direction until the tracks disappear. It will confuse them, at least for a while." He turned and pointed at the gully. "We'll go this way." Taking Moriko's hand once again, they headed in the indicated direction.

The gully was actually an old riverbed, dried out for hundreds of years. Brush grew along the sides and into the gully, leaving a game trail right down the middle. The sandy trail had plenty of animal tracks criss-crossing it.

Amba stopped a moment to show Moriko that their tracks faded into the dirt, undistinguishable from the other tracks. He studied the tracks other animals left in the sand to get an idea what they may encounter. There were cat tracks, not large enough for a lion, so probably belonged to a leopard. Amba was able to identify tracks by basic types, such as the cat tracks or hoofed animals. Amba identified at least five different types of hoofed animals. The horse like hoof tracks most likely belonged to a zebra. It was the big round tracks that caught his attention. He had never seen anything like them, but the only animal big enough to make such tracks was an elephant. That was an animal he didn't really want to have a confrontation with.

Lenka sat up with a start when his phone rang. His drink had relaxed him enough that he had taken a cat nap. He grabbed the phone, not really expecting it to be Takashi.

"Hello?"

"You have my daughter. I want her back."

Lenka was taken slightly by surprise at the tone of voice. The tone was flat, no emotion to it, at least not that Lenka could detect. What bothered Lenka most was that Takashi knew who had taken his daughter. This made him pause momentarily. How did Takashi know?

Following Takashi's lead, Lenka got right to the point. "Yes, I have her. You can get her back by selling me your company." Lenka thought he heard a soft growl, then the phone went silent. Takashi had hung up. This was not the reaction he expected. What was Takashi up to? What was he planning? Most importantly, how had he known who had taken his daughter? Lenka was slightly unsettled by this turn of events. He had a glimmer of doubt that things would turn out in his favor. Shaking off the doubt, he had to think how to make sure everything went his way. He considered his options. Most likely, Takashi would fly in a private jet and show up in Port Elizabeth, at the shipping company. Lenka decided to have a few men waiting to "escort" Takashi to the estate. The unknown factor was how much Takashi knew. This was a major problem. If Takashi knew enough, he could head straight for the estate, possibly with back up, such as the authorities or his own henchmen if he had any.

The cell phone rang and Lenka picked it up. "What!" he snapped.

"I have bad news." It was the doctor. "Warin didn't make it. Mac is recovering but will need several weeks to completely recover."

Losing two of his best men and a third out of commission for several weeks, was a blow. Finding such good men was hard, and could take weeks. He'd have to accept whoever Killian got.

Lenka decided on a shower and change of clothes as his suit was rumpled. He knew he had at least 17 hours before Takashi arrived. And he was sure Takashi would come. After a quick shower and change into a tan silk shirt, a brown tie, tan slacks, white shoes and white suit coat, he went back out to see what progress his people had made.

The biggest pieces of the debris were still in evidence, pulled into a pile on one side of the air strip. The rest had been carted off in trucks and dumped somewhere in the bush. Two men started loading a big piece of the plane onto a flatbed truck. Where they would take the junk Lenka didn't know and didn't care. As Lenka watched, Killian came back with his men as well as a few more. Lenka wasn't pleased to see Killian without prisoners.

"Where are they?"

"Sorry Sir, no sign of them. No tracks; nothing." Waving an arm at the four new recruits, he introduced them as military soldiers willing to earn extra money. "I have a few more men arriving shortly.

Frustrated with how things were going, Lenka took it upon himself to organize a search party, as his men seemed too unfocused to do anything. He was still upset that his plans weren't going as expected and worried about Takashi. His men took the brunt of his frustrations. He yelled, threatened and bullied until he was satisfied that he had everyone's attention. His first action was to call in a helicopter to do sweeps. His plan was to go with the helicopter and control the ground search. Next he picked four men to guard the estate. As he gave them their orders, three more arrived in a jeep. These men were scruffy looking. They were mainly poachers, making money killing or capturing endangered animals. They weren't too concerned about what the job was as long as they got paid. They quietly joined the group.

"Form two search parties," Lenka told Killian. "Start from here; one group sweep east, the other west." He waited impatiently for Killian to form two groups. Killian gave one of the military men a radio, making sure they were all on the same frequency. "I'm going in the helicopter and will direct your movements. You will stay out until it's too dark to see. We'll come back here and go out again at first light." He stared hard at everyone until he got affirmative responses. "Get going."

They followed the meandering gully trail for about an hour, Amba keeping an eye on the tracks. He had dropped the stalker mode and he was no longer holding Moriko's hand. Moriko had been observing Amba's alert and searching gaze. She wondered what his tracking skills were and asked what he was looking for.

"A lead to a water source." He looked at Moriko. "It's hot and even demons need water sometimes." As he checked the tracks, he continues his explanation. "My people are hunter-gatherers. We learn at an early age how to track, how to find water." Amba paused and pointed to some tracks. "That is a cat. Given the size, probably a leopard."

"How fresh are they? I mean, could the leopard still be around?"

"Not more than an hour old." The tracks led up out of the gully. Amba didn't follow, but if he had, he would have seen that the tracks doubled back along the gully.

"So what are your people like?" Moriko was curious about this easy going youkai.

"Like I said, we are hunter-gatherers. We hunt for our food, keep away from humans and prefer to be left alone."

"Sounds kind of lonely."

"Not really. As Tiger Folk, by our very nature we tend to be loners."

"How many Tiger Folk are there?"

"Only my clan is left. There are only 23 left in the village, not counting me."

"That's not many at all. There are no other Tiger Folk?"

"Not in Siberia that we know of. We don't get around much though."

"What's your family like?"

"I have two siblings, a brother and sister." Amba was pleased that Moriko was interested in learning about his family. He really liked her and hoped she felt the same. He knew there was something special about Moriko. "My Father is our leader. He's very adept at keeping us hidden from humans."

"So how did you end up here?"

"I have the 'wanderer's soul', as my father calls it."

Moriko smiled. She could hear the amusement in his voice.

She was about to ask about that wandering soul when she thought she heard a sound.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered just as Amba paused a moment, listening carefully. He was sure he heard a very soft growl. He put his finger to his lips in shushing sign to keep Moriko from saying or doing anything. Tuning into the natural world, he picked up the heartbeat of a cat. He was able to get a direction, behind them and off to the left.

"It's a leopard" he told Moriko. Turning slowly, Amba scanned the brush off to the left. It was thick and hard to see into. He caught a brief flash of golden yellow and a black spot; then nothing. As he looked for the leopard, a low rumbling sound coupled with breaking brush came from the direction they were heading.

"Elephant" Moriko observed as she moved to stand closer to Amba.

The elephant, a big bull, around 50 years old, pushed its way through the brush, in search of food. His tusks were fairly long, weighing around 70 pounds each. Those tusks could help him get food or fend off any threat. He had smelled the leopard but was unconcerned. The leopard posed no threat to an elephant. It was the scent of the other creatures that stopped him. He raised his trunk and smelled the air. The scent was similar to human but not the same. It bothered him and he went on the defensive; he flared his ears, trumpeted and charged.

The 16 hour flight to Africa was spent going over information and making plans. Sesshoumaru, dressed in his customary white, shirt and jeans rather than a suit, was seated at the head of the conference table the executive jet was equipped with. InuYasha and Kagome sat on one side, both dressed similar to Sesshoumaru. Sherrin and Hikaru sat on the other side. They too were dressed in comfortable shirts and jeans. Moose was asleep under the table.

Sesshoumaru would have preferred that Sherrin stay home, but rather than argue, he decided to have Sherrin closer at hand. Together with Hikaru and Kagome, they would search the estate for any incriminating evidence. Sesshoumaru was sure there would be guards and most likely staff in and around the estate. Dealing with the guards and staff to make sure the estate was safe for Sherrin and Kagome to search was priority. Moose would go along with Sherrin as extra help and guard. Newfoundlands are known for being very friendly and great nannies for kids, but they are also capable guard dogs.

InuYasha went over the info Kouga had sent, getting a mental image of Lenka's personality. And he didn't like the image he got. It reminded him of Naraku. Lenka was a heartless, soulless monster. He didn't care how he made his money, who he killed or had killed, to get that money. All Lenka cared about was power. He liked being able to control those around him, whether it be with money or force. Those that worked for him either had the same heartless attitude or were afraid of him.

"Most likely Lenka will have an 'escort' waiting for us," InuYasha related what he had learned about Lenka. "He's power hungry and likes to be in control. My guess is the authorities are on his pay roll or bribed."

"What do we do with any evidence we might find?" Sherrin asked, wondering that if they couldn't trust the authorities, who could they call for help.

"Keep any evidence you find and we'll worry about it later."

They discussed the general plan of action, making sure they all knew what was expected of them. How the plan worked depended on everyone being able to adjust as the situation arose. As far as Sesshoumaru was concerned, there was no room for failure.

Notes:

Thanks to Africam, I have some idea of what the land looks like and what animals will likely show up.

Sorry it has taken so long to get the next chapter up. I've been busy and just haven't been in the mood to write. I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas for what happens next. Please let me know how my writing is. Pointers and suggestions on better writing are always welcome.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7** **The Chase**

The elephant made a short charge; a warning. He made two more such charges, ears flared and trumpeting loudly. Dust flew up in the air from his large feet when he entered the gully.

Amba and Moriko, choking from the dust, backed up along the gully floor, going sideways along the steep bank rather than climbing out. The elephant, which had come from the direction they were headed, was now facing north, the direction he had just come from. He trumpeted again and shook his huge head but didn't move. As Amba and Moriko backed away some more, the elephant lifted his trunk and sniffed. Lowering his trunk after a few minutes, he turned and made his way down the gully.

"I don't want to do that again." Moriko sighed with relief. Being a youkai with supernatural abilities, Amba could have easily stopped the elephant. But neither he nor Moriko had any wish to harm such a magnificent animal, even though being charged by a large bull elephant is scary, no matter who or what you are.

The gully, surrounded by trees and brush in most places, was fairly cool in the shade; but the late afternoon sun beat down on the parts that weren't shaded. Stopping in one such shaded area, Amba again looked for signs that animals knew where a water source was. From the tracks, Amba guessed that the animals used this as a regular trail, moving from one place to another; most likely from food to water.

"We'll keep following along here," Amba told Moriko. "It might lead us to water."

Moriko nodded. Youkai, at least the youkai she knew, didn't need food, water or sleep as much as humans. But Africa tends to get hot and she was getting thirsty.

"So what is this 'wandering soul' you mentioned?" Moriko was as interested in Amba as he had hoped. He was charming with a sense of humor. He was aware of the seriousness of their situation but didn't let it suppress his cheerful nature.

"I'm not content to sit at home. I want to see the world, learn what I can."

"So how much of the world have you seen?"

"Mostly the Japanese docks and university." Amba laughed. "On advice from an uncle, I came straight down from my home in Siberia. Got a job at the docks and started school."

"So now you're stuck here in Africa, being chased by horrible humans."

"At least I get to see Africa." He glanced over at Moriko. "Africa isn't so bad and the company is nice."

Moriko blushed, shaking her head. "What about the men chasing us?"

"We'll deal with that when the time comes." Amba gave her a confident smile. "What about your Father? Will come looking for you?"

"Most definitely." As she walked, she gathered her thoughts. She wanted to tell Amba everything. Of course, she wasn't sure how her Father would feel about that, but Amba was risking his life for her and deserved to know the whole story.

"Father won't be very happy either." Moriko glanced at Amba. "I'm sure you've wondered about my being half youkai."

"Well I kind of assumed your mother was human since your father is a youkai."

"But you still wondered about that."

"From what we have heard, your Father doesn't care much for humans, so yeah, your mother being human is a bit of a surprise."

"It's a long and complicated story." Moriko scuffed her feet in the sand. She wondered what Sherrin thought of the current situation and how she was taking it. She knew her father would be angry. 'Why of all times for this to have happened?' Moriko asked herself.

"Well, you can tell me the story when you're ready." As much as he wanted to know about Moriko's family, they were still on the run and in need of water. Pushing his curiosity aside for now, Amba looked around for tell-tale signs of a water source. Seeing nothing but the sandy gully, not even an animal, Amba continued down the dry watercourse. "Right now we need to find water." Not only did they need to keep hidden, they needed water and eventually they'd need food.

The shadows were getting longer as the sun slowly made its way toward the horizon. They picked up their pace, following the trail down the gully. At one point, they followed the trail up out of the gully as the way was blocked by brush, most likely placed there by a long ago flood. A hundred yards further, the trail went back into the gully. After an hour, the gully ended and they found water. Unknown to Amba and Moriko, they had entered Addo National Elephant Park.

Lenka was barely able to control his anger. His plans had always worked. This time, nothing seemed to go as he wanted. He lay in bed, going over the events of the day.

Killian had wasted time by cutting short his first search and coming back to report to Lenka. Then more time was wasted waiting for the extra men and the helicopter. Finally able to start a more detailed search, Lenka had thought things were finally going his way. Once in the air, he radioed orders to the two search teams on the ground. One team went west and north from the estate; the other team went east and north.

Lenka had the pilot fly low so he could search for movement. He had thought he'd have a better view of the surrounding area. Which he did in the open areas; but wooded areas he couldn't see thing. As far as he could see, nothing moved. He called his men to have them widen their search.

On the ground, Killian could hear the helicopter. He and his team were headed east and north. He looked up at the helicopter and shook his head. If he could hear it, so could the prisoners. They could go to ground, hide somewhere. In response to Lenka's orders, he spread out his men, about a hundred yards between them to cover more ground. The problem was, they hadn't found anything so far.

"Here!" One of the men yelled out. Killian walked over and looked at what the man had found. One set of human tracks. They appeared out of nowhere and led toward the west, lasting about 50 feet before disappearing again. Killian wasted more time looking over the tracks trying to find where they came from or where they went. He swore. "It's a trick, trying to lead us in the wrong direction." He gathered all his men and sent them in a more easterly direction to search.

As evening grew closer, the shadows longer and the sky darker, one of Killian's men stumbled down a bank.

"Hey boss!"

Killian made his way to where the man, one of the poachers, was standing in a gully. The gully was a dry stream bed. The dusty sand was a jumble of tracks. Killian wasn't a good tracker, he couldn't make out anything.

"Lots of animals here." The poacher, who went by the name Senzo, pointed to the tracks. Being a poacher, he had learned to read tracks and other signs that wildlife left. "Animals move along here, searching for water." He looked at Killian. "Easiest way to go for someone on the run."

Killian agreed. "Let's go." He called the rest of the men. A few minutes later, the men were heading down the gully. Killian radioed Lenka and let him know what they found and where they were going.

"Any human tracks?" Lenka had the pilot fly in the direction Killian had indicated even though it was getting too dark for him to see.

"Not yet, but there's so many animal tracks all mixed up it's hard to tell." Killian kept an eye on Senzo. The man was obviously a really good tracker; hopefully he'd find something.

Senzo looked up at the sky, noting how dark it had become. "Can't track in this light." He looked over at Killian. "Won't find anything now. Come back at first light."

"You find anything?"

Senzo nodded. He pointed to a scuff mark that Killian couldn't make heads or tails of. "Scuff mark, made by heel of boot."

Killian called Lenka, telling him they found a track, but it was too dark to continue.

Lenka sighed. "Very well, head back to the estate. We'll head out again at first light." Lenka wasn't happy about having to call off the search, but at least this time they had a lead. He instructed the pilot to go back to the estate. Once there, he told the pilot he wasn't needed anymore. While his men made their way back in the dark, Lenka had the cook make him dinner. He didn't think of his men, as far as he was concerned, they could fend for themselves.

Lenka enjoyed his meal, a variation of Sweet Lamb using imported Big Horn Sheep with dried prunes, pear, white raisins, blanched whole almonds and seasoned with ground cinnamon, sugar and orange blossom water and served with rice, salad and bread. Afterwards, he went to prepare for bed. He started the shower, got out pale purple silk pajamas and laid them on the bed and put his cell phone down on the nightstand. Heading into the bathroom, he tossed his clothes on the floor for the maid to pick up, and took a long hot relaxing shower. Once he felt a bit more relaxed, he stepped out of the shower, dried himself off, wrapped the towel around himself and went into the bedroom. He tossed the towel and dressed in the pajamas. As he was settling into bed, his cell phone rang. Picking it up he snapped "What?"

"This is Roka," the voice said. Roka was the man in charge of the rhino.

"What do you want?" Lenka got a sinking feeling about this call. Roka sounded nervous.

"The truck delivering the rhino had an accident and the rhino escaped." Roka was glad he wasn't anywhere near Lenka. As it was, he was sure he would be fired at best, missing at worst.

"If you show up in two days without a rhino, I will personally make sure you never work another day in your short life!" Lenka couldn't believe it. After all his planning, all his hard work, not only was the shipping company deal slipping away, the rhino hunt was going sour too. He managed to get his anger under control before throwing his cell phone against the wall. 'Maybe tomorrow will bring better results' he thought. Using a meditation technique, he calmed his frayed nerves and was finally relaxed enough to sleep. He wanted an early start in the morning, an end to this crisis that seemed to be getting out of hand.

Hi'Iki slowly made his way into the valley, following a vague trail through the dense forest. He couldn't see far as the trees and under brush were thick but he sensed that he was being watched. Even though he had sent a message ahead to let the Tiger Folk know he was coming, he didn't want any misunderstandings about his arrival. The Tiger Folk would know he wasn't human and he had no idea how often they met other youkai like themselves, if at all.

Hi'Iki stopped when he sensed a presence close to him. A tall man, with chestnut red hair streaked with black, golden eyes and an athletic build, suddenly appeared. He was wearing clothes that blended into the forest: a dark green shirt, black jeans and hand made moccasins. In contrast, Hi'Iki's shirt was white with turquoise trim on the shoulders and collar and his pants were white.

"You are Hi'Iki". He had a deep gravely voice.

Hi'Iki nodded. "I've come on behalf of the Great Dog Demon, Sesshoumaru."

"We have heard of him. I am Alik, leader of the Tiger Folk." Alik motioned for Hi'Iki to follow him. "So what does the Great Dog Demon want of us?" Alik asked as they made their way through the forest to the village.

"There has been an incident and it seems one of your clan members may be involved." Hi'Iki was hesitant to reveal exactly what happened. Depending on the youkai, such a revelation might reflect badly on Sesshoumaru; allowing his daughter to be kidnapped may be considered a sign of weakness.

"Incident?" Alik paused at the edge of the forest, allowing the visitor his first glimpse of the village.

Hi'Iki paused in amazement when he stepped into the clearing.

The little village was situated up against one side of the valley, surrounded by a lush green meadow. Sunlight sparkled on a small fast running stream that gurgled over several small waterfalls as it past the village. The stream turned closer to the edge of the forest just past the village and headed down the length of the valley. The forest dominated the valley and stepping into the clearing was a surprise to visitors. The village itself was made up of seven small buildings in a semi-circle around a larger central building. All were made of stone. Outside the central building was a community fire pit. Three women were sitting around the fire, cooking something.

Hi'Iki was reminded of his own clan as he took in the scene. He got the impression these were peaceful folk and not quick to judge. Making a decision, he turned back to Alik with a smile. "I imagine all your visitors react the same way."

Alik laughed and agreed. "Yes. Not that we get many visitors here." They made their way to the fire pit. The three women stood up and were introduced to Hi'Iki. Zhara, sister to Alik, was wearing a shirt and long skirt in shades of tan and red. Her long dark hair was braided and wrapped around her head. Gala, Alik's mate, was tall and graceful. Her short russet red hair framed her oval face. The blues and green she wore complimented her red hair. Sveta, Amba's sister, was outfitted in a vest over a shirt and jeans, all in shades of pale yellow. Her long dark reddish brown pony tail contrasted against the pale yellow of her outfit.

Zhara and Sveta smiled at Hi'Iki and quietly made their way to one of the houses, leaving the leaders to talk to the visitor.

Gala smiled at Hi'Iki and offered him some stew, which was what had been cooking.

As he ate, Hi'Iki explained about the kidnapping, and that the scent of a feline youkai was detected.

Gala expressed concern for Moriko.

"My son, Amba is in Japan, studying. He has the wanderer's soul, as well as the wish to learn." Alik considered what Hi'Iki said. "Amba has been caught up in something not of his making." He knew Amba wasn't involved by free choice; he was the victim of circumstances.

"Well of course you'd be concerned," Gala said, understanding the concern of the situation. She smiled at Hi'Iki. "Knowing Amba, he has come to Moriko's aid and gotten himself in trouble as well."

Hi'Iki agreed. While he didn't know Amba, he knew these people were peaceful and not in the habit of causing trouble for themselves or anyone else.

"We're going after Moriko's kidnapper. You're welcome to come if you wish."

Alik shook his head. "We are not comfortable with leaving our home and we know Amba's abilities. He won't use them unless he knows he can without repercussions. Of all of us, he is the strongest."

"Thank you for helping us." Hi'Iki shook Alik's hand and bowed to Gala. "It would have been more pleasant if not for the circumstances."

"Come back and visit when things have calmed down." Gala smiled as she waved.

"I will." Hi'Iki waved, then turned and made his way back through the valley. He would send Kodo and Podo to inform Sesshoumaru what he had learned here.

Moswen crouched behind the big bush. His sandy coloring and light brown tunic helped to hide him. Knowing his opponent was right on the other side, he prepared for an attack. A giant top came sailing over the bush, nearly landing on him. His bright green eyes flashed with glee as he dodged the top and tossed a wooden snake. "Inyoka!" he yelled. His hair blew around his face as he followed the snake in the air. The snake appeared to come alive as it twisted and wriggled before falling to the ground.

"Fox Fire!" A blue flame arched over and down onto the snake, causing it to go up in smoke.

Moswen leaped, tackling the owner of the blue flame. "Gotcha!" He yelled as he wrestled with his opponent on the sandy ground.

"That was great Shippou; I haven't been able to practice like that in years." Moswen grinned at his best friend from Japan as they picked themselves up off the ground.

Shippou grinned back. "I know, the last time we had such fun was when we were at the training school, earning points for playing tricks." Shippou brushed the dust off his clothes. In contrast to Moswen, Shippou wore a bright turquoise blue shirt with a lighter blue turquoise vest over it and dark blue pants. Everything had a dusty look to it after their tussle in the sand.

Standing together, clothing wasn't the only contrast. Shippou was slightly taller and had chestnut red hair. He no longer looked like the little child that tagged after InuYasha and friends. He looked more like an adult, taller, leaner and more muscular. He had developed the ability to hide his tail and wore boots to hide his foxy feet.

Moswen, being a Cape Fox youkai, was slightly smaller with lighter, sandy colored hair. His tunic, a vest and pants and moccasin type boots, were of a soft tan colored cloth.

Shippou had gotten a message from Moswen and had decided to go visit. Moswen lived in South Africa and Shippou thought it might be a good place to practice their "magic" without fear of discovery. His visit so far had gone well. He and Moswen had lots of fun catching up on the last 500 years and testing their skills.

Now though, they felt it was time to take a break from the heat. They found a shady spot and sat down to a light lunch. After, they planned on going for a hike, as Moswen wanted to show Shippou Africa's wildlife. The best place Moswen had mentioned was Addo National Elephant Park. He explained that it was because they had some animals no longer seen in the southern most parts of South Africa.

Notes:

For Shippou I had to use my imagination and decided that once he was an adult, he was able to cover his tail and wore boots or shoes to cover his feet. The training school refers to an episode where Shippou meets other fox demons and they play tricks on Inu and company in order to earn points and recognition as tricksters

Inyoka is Zulu for snake (at least I hope it is). Alik is a Siberian name meaning "Defender"

For my story, some of the animals encountered are imported to a game reserve. Addo National elephant Park is a real place; animals added are my invention though. Not all African animals are found all over Africa and a lot are no longer seen in their former ranges. In the area the story takes place, you probably won't see hippos, lions, rhinos or cheetahs. You might see wildebeest, impala, elephants, giraffes, ostrich and cape buffalo. You most likely will see mountain zebra, greater kudu, hyenas and leopards.

The sweet lamb recipe is a real South African dish served with rice, salad and bread.


End file.
